Ore-separator.



No. 700,7II. Patenced May 20, |902.

' F. R. WATERS.

one sEPARATon.

plication tiled Ma. 8, 1901 j I NIET INU, @uw NH FREDERICK R. WATERS, OF SALIDA, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR, BY .MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ONE-HALF TO S. OJ MALIN AND ROBERT J. POWELL,

oRE-sEPARAToR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,711, dated May 20, 1902. 4

Application led May 8. 1901. Serial No. 59,267. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, FREDERICK R. vVVA'JTERS, -a citizen of the United States, residing at Salid-a, in the county of Chaffee and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful'Ore- Separator, of whichthe followingis a specification.

The present invention relates to separators,

this class of gold, but either because of the inability of the` machines and methods heretofore employed or the incident expense to recover it these localities have never'been worked.

The prime object of this invention,I therefore, is to provide a machine of simple construction that will thoroughly separate'this class known as float or flour gold from the material which contains it; and-to this end the construction described in the follow-y ing specification and shown in the accom-` anying drawings is preferred, although it will be readily understood that changesmay be made therefrom as fall within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a separator embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a vertical section through the amalgam arrester or trap.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in allv the figures of the drawings.

In carrying out the invention a supportingframe is provided which consists of standards 10, connected by stringers or braces 11. Upon this frame is rotatably supported an amalgamator 12, which is in the form of an open-ended cylindrical casing.

The ends of this casing are provided with spiders 13, carrying centrally-disposed sleeves 14, that receive the ends of journals v15said journals being arranged in suitable boxes16, located upon thesupporting-frame, so that the casing will preferably be disposed at an inclination.v

The casing 12 reconstructed of a plurality of detachable sections 12'", and .as each of these sections is ofsubstantially the same construction but one will be described. The walls of the section yare preferably made of sheet metal and have their interior surfaces coated with suitable substances having an affinity for gold-as, for instance, quicksilver. Seamed to one endv of the section' is an inwardly-extending,annular rim 17, to which is bolted or otherwise'detachably secured an annular stop-flange 18, which carries an offset inwardly-projecting retarding-collar 19, that is spaced from, the inner faceof the section-wall, and thus forms an annular pocket 20. This retarding-collar is provided with escape-orifices 21, which. are arranged at an inclination to the edges of the same, and inclinedc'onveyer-wings 22 are located at the oppositeside edges of said escape openings or orifices and project from both faces of the re'- tarding-collars, so that a plurality will thus extend into the pocket 20, while another set will project from the inner face of the collar.

Located longitudinally upon the inner face of the section-wall are stirrer-ribs 23,that extend the entire length of the section and thus have portions located in the pocket 20. f These stirrer-ribs are arranged between the escapeopenings 21 of the retarding-collar, as clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. formed of a plurality of sections, the ends of which are arranged in overlappingrelation and are detachably secured together by bolts 24 or other suitable fastening .means .to ,provide a rigid and liquid-tight joint. The. onter or inlet end of the rst section is preferably provided with an inwardly-extending .retaining-rim 25, and the opp'os'iteor'dischiarge end is preferably provided with a cuff 26, to which the spider 13 is secured. The journal at the discharge end of the device is prolonged,.so

The casing is that it will extend beyond the casing, and may4 A hopper 30 is arranged above this sluice,`

and a water-supply end communicating of the hopper.

For the purpose of preventing the escape of any amalgam or quicksilver which may become detached during the operation of the machine an arresting receptacle or trap 32 is provided below the discharge end of the casing, a funnel 33, secured to the supportingframe, conducting the discharging material to the same. clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, consists of a conical bottom 34 and an annular upstanding side wall 35. The bottom is provided with a series of annular grooves or pockets 36, the lower side walls 37 of which are of substantially the same height as the upper side walls. This receptacle is located above or upon the upper end of a tailings-discharge trough 3S.

In operation the casing is rotated by any suitable means, as above described, and the material is introduced into the hopper 30. Water from any suitable source is then admitted to the sluice 29 through the supplypipe 31 and mixing with the material at the bottom of the hopper forms a slush, which gravitates into the first section of the casing. As this casing is rotated the material comes into contact with the Quicksilver upon the interior face and the gold contained therein will amalgamate with said quicksilver in a manner Well understood. The stirrer-ribs 23 keep the material in a state of agitation, and thus bring all the portions thereof into contact with the Quicksilver. The slush is held back by the stop-flange 13 and the retarding-collar 19, which prevents the too-rapid discharge of the material. The conveyer-wings 22, however, prevent the solid material from packing into the pockets and throw the same into the escape-openings, from which it is carried into the next section, and so on through the casing. This violent agitation, however, tends to remove some of the quicksilver and amalgam, which discharging with the tailings passes through the funnel 33 and into the trap 32. Being heavier than the refuse, it gravitates to the bottom and is caught in the receiving pockets or grooves, while the residue flows over the edge of the receptacle and discharges into the trough 38. When it is desired to cleanse the receptacle, the sections are taken apart and the interior walls are thoroughly scraped. They are then repipe 3l has its discharge with said sluice infront This receptacle or trap, asI

coated with the quicksilver and fastened together. The gold is recovered by any wellknoWn process.

By this construction a very simple machine is provided, which by careful test has been found to thoroughly remove the line particles of gold contained in auriferous earth. It has been found that it Will operate in substantial] y a horizontal position, and while the device is shown as constructed of two sections it will be readily understood that more or less may be employed, as desired'l From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changesin the size, shape,

proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an ore-separator,the combination with a casing, of a stop-liange located in the casing, and a retarding-collar carried by the fiange and spaced from the inner face of the casing'to form a holding-pocket, said collar being provided with an escape-opening.

2. In an ore-separator,the combination with a casing, of a stop-flange located in the casing, and. a retarding-collar carried by the liange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form a holdngpocket, said co1- lar being provided with an inclined escapeopening.

3. In an ore-separator,the combination With a casing, of an annular stop-fiange located in the casing, a retarding-collar carried by the flange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form a holding-pocket, and wings carried by said retarding-collar and projecting into the pocket.

4. In an oreseparator,the combination with a casing, of an annular stop-flange located in the casing, a retarding-collar carried by the .flange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form a holding-pocket, said collar being provided with an escape-opening, and a wing carried by said retarding-collar, said wing being located contiguous to the escapeopening and projecting into the pocket.

5. In an ore-separator, the combination with a rotatable casing, of an annular stop-flange located in the casing, a retarding-collar carried by the flange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form an annular pocket, and inclined Wings carried by the collar and projecting from both faces thereof.

6. In an ore-separator,tl1e combination with of an annular stop-flange a rotatable casing,

located in the casing, a retarding-collar carried by the flange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form an annular pocket,

IOO

IIO

said collar being provided with a plurality of Y inclined escape-openings, and inclined Wings carried by the retarding-collar and arranged adjacent to the escape-openings, said Wings projecting from both faces of the collar.

7. In an ore-separator,the combination with an open-ended rotatable casing carrying journals at its end, of an intermediate annular stop-flange arranged upon the interior of the casing, an annular retarding-colla'r carried by the stop-ange and spaced from the casing, said collar being provided With inclined escape-openings, inclined Wings carried by the collar and projecting from both faces thereof, and stirrer-ribs located longitudinally upon the inner face of the casing and projecting into the space between the collar and the casing-Wall.

8. In an ore-separator,the combination with an open-ended rotatable casing carrying journals at its ends, of an intermediate annular stop-fiange arranged upon the interior of the casing, an annular retarding-collar detachably secured to the stop-nange and spaced from the casing, said collar being provided with inclined escape-openings, inclined wings carried by the collar and projecting from both faces thereof, and stirrer-ribs located longitudinally upon the inner face of the casing, and projecting into the space between the collar and the casing-Wall.

9. In an oreseparator,the combination with a casing, of a stop-flange located in the casing, a retarding-collar carried by the flange and spaced from the inner face of the casing to form a pocket, said collar having a plurality of openings therethrough, a plurality of wings carried by the flange and disposed within the pocket, and a rib located longitu= dinally upon the inner face of the casing' and having one end arranged Within the pocket.-

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto anixed my signature inl of two witnesses. FREDERICK R. WATERS. Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, B. G. FOSTER.

the presence 

